On the Edge (2022) by Jenn and Sylvia Soska


Director: Jenn and Sylvia Soska
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological

Plot:
Arriving at a remote hotel room, a man finds that his session with a dominatrix has started which soon begins a series of deep and unnerving psychological tortures that may or may not be related to his past hidden trauma and must find a way to endure the session for his own sanity.

Review:

On the whole, this was a decidedly flawed and problematic entry. One of the few bright spots here concerns the films' willingness and association with bondage and kink subculture, utilizing these aspects openly and freely throughout. The severity and frequency of the bondage sequences that take place here are somewhat shocking and confrontational with the means through which it displays not only graphic male nudity and trauma inflicted upon the private areas during this kind of thematic session but also employing a kind of therapeutic reaction to what's going on through the various encounters with the visitors to the room treating everything as normal. That helps to provide a baseline for later on in the film when the bizarre hallucinations and visual trickery begins, seeming to imply that something is intended with the whole interaction between them.

Beyond that, though, this one comes off as incredibly frustrating and underwhelming. The lack of context regarding the whole session and what's going on makes for a rather difficult time here with the whole experience never having any context. There's never a point where it makes sense what's going on as the film trades on the opportunity to do that with the extended scenes of torture that offers a fine start but grows increasingly repetitive while also forgoing the chance to mention what's going on or the purpose behind it all. That causes a severe lack of interest as this meanders on since the running time is arduously overlong and never really warrants a reason for being the length it is so everything here feels quite underwhelming as he's put through his paces and reacts with a decidedly blank expression leaving everything to become quite underwhelming. These features end up dragging this one down from what it could've been.


Overview: **/5
While there's enough of an idea present here that it could've been entertaining, it's let down by several big factors that provide this one with some troublesome factors to overcome the positives. Those who are fans of the creative crew will be the main ones to like this one while most others who don't care for them or are turned off by the style and approach should avoid this one.

ON THE EDGE - OFFICIAL TRAILER.mov from Twisted Twins Productions on Vimeo.

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